Newspaper Page Text
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Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Recycling options scarce on UWG campus
By Bobby Moore
Editor-In-Chief
uwgpaper@westga. edu
At the University of West Georgia,
students can pick up four free newspapers,
including The West Georgian, and can
also participate in Earth Day festivities
every April.
However, they do not seem to have
many recycling options.
While there are receptacles for
recycling bottles and small blue waste
baskets that are meant for recyclable
paper, students do not have many on
campus options for recycling.
There is a campus-wide program that
began on April 1, 1996. The program,
which was designed by Harris Holmes,
was patterned after the University of
Georgia’s recycling program.
Despite the program’s longevity,
several students do not know about it.
“I know we have the recycling bins
we use in the library, but I’m not sure what
they do everywhere else on campus,” said
Justin Arrington, a graduate student from
Stone Mountain, Ga.
The program began with one worker
in every building handling recycling, but
since then the school has grown and the
recycling program is mainly handled by
custodial workers.
Since the beginning of the program,
it has consistently been the busiest late in
the spring when the faculty are cleaning
out their offices and in the fall when
students are moving into residence halls.
In spite of those consistencies, the
program has changed over the years.
’’Early in the program, we tried to do
a program in the dorms, and that did not
work out. We actually had people taking
the tops off of them (the larger bins) and
scraping their plates in them. That is really
bad after a couple of weeks. Also, we have
had problems with people putting trash in
the recycling bins. Maybe the students will
have a better idea of what it would take to
make the program work,” said Andy Freer
of UWG Facilities and Grounds.
Despite the appearance of student
apathy, Freer says that several concerned
students speak up every year, but there is
a lot of work to be done if the recycling
program is going to work.
STAR i from page 1
because some of us find
it acceptable to speak
like the Ying Yang Twins
than to speak like Tavis
Smiley. Too many of our
young people are being
sucked in by consumerism
instead of maintaining
their credit.”
He also endorsed the
need for financial literacy
in the black community,
saying that blacks “aren’t
spending our money to
create wealth.”
Jackson also spoke
about home ownership,
calling it the “foundation
of wealth in America.”
“The only way to
secure wealth is to create
intergenerational wealth,”
Jackson said.
For inspiration,
Jackson pointed to his
mother, who was the first
woman in her family to
graduate from college.
“My mother made a
way. She knew what she
wanted and circumstances
be damned,” Jackson said
of his mother’s ambitions.
He went on to
say that people should
be commended when
they “remain positive
and rise above their
circumstances.”
Jackson cited many
examples of successful
black men who have risen
above their circumstances
and made a difference in
The faculty and staff also play a big
part in the program.
“If it was not for our custodians,
our recycling program would not work
as well as it does,” Freer said. “Without
the custodians, there would still be some
kind of program, but it wouldn’t work as
well.”
Another problem for the program is
the school’s distance from Atlanta. Also,
UWG has a much smaller budget to work
with than a school like UGA, where they
have their own garbage trucks.
“Our program from the beginning
has not really been funded,” Freer said.
While a partnership between UWG
and Carroll County was considered at
times, there was a fear that it would turn
into a typical convenience center. Also,
disposing of things like glass and plastic
would be difficult and expensive.
“Dealing with glass is expensive. It
takes up a lot of space per weight, and it
is like hauling sand,” Freer said.
The school also does less visible
forms of recycling, as they recycle all
pallets, tires, motor oil. batteries and
fluorescent lights. Also, the school keeps
all landscape debris.
There are already high local standards
for recycling, as Carrollton City Schools
won a recycling excellence award in 2002
and a non-profit organization called the
Georgia Recycling Commission is the
National Recycling Coalition's newest
state affiliate.
While the school does support
recycling plastics, there are usually plenty
of aluminum beer and soda cans in the
trash bins around the residence halls.
Nationally, 55 percent of cans
are recycled while only 42 percent of
plastic bottles are recycled, so it would
make sense for students to recycle their
aluminum cans.
According to Ecomall.com, recycling
aluminum cans reduces energy use by 74
percent, air pollution by 85 percent, solid
waste by 95 percent and water pollution
by 76 percent.
• Newspapers also need to be recycled,
because students at UWG dispose of
hundreds of papers each week.
If only a small percentage of those
papers were recycled every week, it would
probably save as many as four trees.
their lives.
Some of those names
included hip-hop artist Jay-
Z and Illinois Democratic
Senator Barack Obama.
He also distinguished
the difference between
leaders and others in the
business world.
“Leaders,” he said,
“have to challenge
themselves to make
decisions that aren’t
popular. Many leaders
want to use the title of
their position, but don’t
want to do the dirty work
that comes with it.”
Students and others in
the audience were allowed
to ask Jackson questions
about the lecture and his
thoughts on starting their
own businesses. Many
students also commented
on Jackson’s lecture.
“I thought the speech
was very presentable. He
had a lot of interesting
advice to give to students,
especially business
majors,” said Jose Avila-
Kelly, a management
major.
Kalesha Knight,
another UWG student,
was also intrigued by
Jackson’s words.
“The speech,
in my opinion, was
very informative and
enlightening. I felt really
inspired by him,” Knight
said.
Kwame Jackson
appeared on the first season
of “The Apprentice.”
He was working on
Wall Street as an investment
manager for Goldman
Sachs before appearing on
the hit NBC show.
He currently gives
speeches on business
related topics to university
students and to business
professionals alike.
Being on “The
Apprentice” allowed
Jackson to learn that
has been valuable to his
success in his life after
being on the show.
“I’ve grown
comfortable with taking
risks and with ambiguity.
The show made me realize
that I was ready to be an
entrepreneur.” he said in an
interview before the lecture.
The lecture was
sponsored by The Center
for African-American
Male Research. Success,
and Leadership.
Jackson’s lecture was
the second in the ongoing
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. Distinguished
Lecture Series.
These speeches occur
twice a during the school
year, once in the spring
and once in the fall.
For more information
about Kwame Jackson,
visit http://www.
kwamejackson.com.
For more information
on upcoming lectures,
visit http://www.westga.
edu/~caamrsl ore-mail Dr.
Sewell at ssewel 1 @ westga.
edu.
—i —— 4- —_ ~a, —.—dUMLfIJQ!—HH
Phottt h\ Hohh\ Moore
The recycling bins on campus, like the one seen above, are meant for paper. Notice the
water bottle that got tossed on top of some scrap paper.
While it would be very convenient
for students w ho do not drive if there were
large recycling bins on campus, there is a
local option in Carrollton.
There is a Carroll County Recycling
Center, which is located at 25 Dyer Rd.
This center is the proper place for
students with transportation to dispose of
their recyclable goods.
Another recycling option is for
larger items and things that are reusable.
At http://groups.yahoo.com/group/
CarrollCountyßecycle/, there is a Yahoo
group where members of the Carroll
County community swap appliances and
Campus Calendar
Wednesday October 18
• NAACP Political Action Committee, UCC 311.6 p.m.
• Judo Club. Student Rec Center, 6:30 p.m.
• SAC Multi-Cultural Committee. Campus Center
Boardroom 105,6:30 p.m.
• Lambda. Pafford 302. 7 p.m.
Thursday October 19
• A DAY Event. Lower Level Z-6, 8 a.m.
• SGA Meeting, Campus Center 302, 3:30 p.m.
• United Voices Gospel Choir Spoken Manna, Campus
Center 302
Monday October 23
• SGA Multicultural Committee, Campus Center 302,
2 p.m.
• SAC General Meeting. Campus Center Ballroom 108.3
4:30 p.m.
• BSA Fall Meetings, UCC 210. 312, 5:30 p.m.
• NAACP. Lower Level Z-6, 6 p.m
• BSA Programming Committee. Campus Center 302, 7
p.m.
Tuesday October 24
• SAC University Traditions Committee, Campus Center
302, 5 p.m.
• Women of Diversity, Campus Center 104, 5 p.m.
• NAACP Meeting. UCC 311,7 p.m.
• BSA Community Service Committee, Campus Center
104,7:30 p.m.
• SPAN: TLCRm. 1305,7:30 p.m.
al|i* lOeet (ftcurgimt
other used items.
That would be a good way to dispose
of a small refrigerator or television after
graduation.
According to Freer, most students
are probably not informed about where
to turn if they are interested in recycling.
"Anything you can keep out of the landfill
will definitely help,” he said. “Also,
awareness and interest couldn't hurt.”
For more information about recycling,
contact the Carroll County Recycling
Center at (770) 838-9586 or visit the
Environmental Protection Agency w ebsite
at http://www.epa.gov.